


kinda like fireworks

by ghostscribe



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Thunderstorm fluff, Thunderstorms, only rated for some language?? idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 02:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15305886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostscribe/pseuds/ghostscribe
Summary: Ethan isn't afraid of much, as far as Silver knows. Today, he learns that Ethan is not very fond of thunderstorms.





	kinda like fireworks

Another rumble of thunder rolls through.

Silver has to admit, he really isn't a huge fan of thunderstorms. They come through this area often, collecting on the Johto side of Mount Silver and hovering here, unleashing their floods over here when not even the thunderheads can manage to scale the mountain. He's used to storms - too used to them, in fact. Silver has spent quite a few nights hiding in Ilex Forest, tucked as deep into the trees as he can get, trying to avoid the onslaught of lighting and rain. He wasn't exactly able to just go inside a random building, and while he could have went to a Pokémon center... Well, Silver has made a few poor decisions in his life, and hiding in a public area would have spelt trouble for him back then. He was just a kid trying to get by after running away from home.

Admittedly, Silver could have stayed at home after his father disappeared, but there were expectations he didn't want to handle.

The disappearance of Team Rocket's leader took a toll on the gang, yes. They were definitely weaker without their single, strong leader. Silver is familiar with the admins of Team Rocket that came about in Giovanni's absence, but he's not fond of any of them or any of what they do. Ariana is the only somewhat tolerable one, but he doesn't even really like her. She was trying her damndest to groom him into a new leader of Team Rocket, and he's always going to resent her for that. He doesn't resent anyone as much as he does Giovanni himself, running away and leaving his _actual son_ back home to fend for himself, but the Rocket Executives come as close as they can. Somehow, he feels their offense was almost worse, having not abandoned but manipulated him for their own desires. He's just lucky he managed to actually get away. Had he been stuck in Team Rocket, he fears he would have been more of a pawn to them than an actual leader.

A huge crackle of thunder hits. Silver glances out the window for only a moment.

He's been reading some Pokémon research paper, something about evolution via friendship from a Kalos author. Ever since Crobat evolved, he's been interested in the semantics of emotion-based evolution. He knows Red has an Espeon, but Red having a strong friendship with her when she was an Eevee makes sense. Silver isn't sure when he started being truly friendly with his Pokémon, though. It's something he's been slowly learning, teaching himself to keep his Pokémon as companions and not just as tools, not like -

An electric crack of thunder snaps him out of his daze long enough for him to notice Ethan sneaking into the room.

"What are you doing up here?" Well, maybe that's not the best question to ask, since Silver is the one in Ethan's bedroom. Ethan had convinced his mom to let Silver stay with them in Giovanni's absence. Whether that was an act of genuine or blind kindness is still a mystery to him. The people of New Bark are often like this, he's learned, cozy and kind.

"Just comin' up to play some video games," Ethan answers, flopping on the bed with his Nintendo behind Silver. "How 'bout you?"

"Reading some research things."

"Oh? What kind of things?"

"Evolution studies."

"What kind of evolution?"

Silver huffs. "Emotive evolutionary processes and the studies surrounding them."

Ethan laughs a little. "You always try to sound so fancy when you talk about the stuff you read. You can say _friendship,_ you know."

"Shut up."

"No, _you_ shut up! You're supposed to be reading - "

A low, loud boom resonates through the room. Ethan falls completely silent.

"I _would_ be reading if you'd stop distracting me."

There's a difference between _happiness_ and _affection,_ apparently, and that distinction is one Silver will never understand, even in human terms. Certain Pokémon seem to only evolve at one time of day, and only with a certain kind of bond with their trainer. Espeon and Umbreon are some of the most notable friendship evolutions, evolving during either the day or the night. Silver wonders if the friendship would be compromised if one were to only train an Eevee at the appropriate time, if it would notice it's being led toward a single destination at the whim of only its trainer. Golbat will evolve at any given time, though, which Silver is quite familiar with, now. There's some semantics about using certain pokéballs to further ones happiness, plants and berries that make the Pokémon more or less friendly, even just walking with them in your party... Silver doesn't think he did anything of particular interest with Golbat, though. They just trained and battled and generally went about their regular business. How -

The rain picks up, and a seconds long flash of lightning lights up the room. The crackle is loud and charged with electricity.

Ethan almost screams.

"What?" Silver looks at Ethan, who's curled up with his game, now. Wasn't he laying on the bed earlier?

"N-Nothing! That just... startled me a - " he stops at another loud _crack,_ " - a-a little."

The thunder is really rolling in, now. "Well, don't scream. You're distracting me."

 _Affection_ isn't unheard of in the evolutionary circle, no, but it was only recently seen as distinct from happiness or friendship. The fairy type Sylveon was recently discovered in Kalos, evolving when knowing a fairy type move and some amount of affection. It's interesting, really, watching both the reclassification and emergence of new types unfold. Fairy types have existed, certainly, but they were often classified as either a normal type or disregarded, for lack of any terminology. Sylveon's existence has really stirred things up, though, and the debate between friendship and affection began.

Silver's own debate has been raging for awhile, though.

Silver steals a quick look at Ethan, who's contently playing his game, now. He's a piece of work, really. He's largely relied on his friendship with his Pokémon as a viable battle technique over actual strategy and foresight. He trains hard, yes, but brute force isn't enough to get you everywhere. If anyone has learned that, it's Silver. Still, Ethan's friendship with his Pokémon is almost unparalleled. Sometimes he'll just shout a quick _go!_ in battle, and his Pokémon know exactly what move to use, or where to jump to dodge an attack. He likes watching Ethan battle; he likes battling Ethan himself, more. While it's true that Ethan has won more of their battles than Silver has, it's still... could he call it fun? Partially, he likes to battle someone with a less analytical mind. Ethan's strategies are more instinctive, in the moment, and sometimes that can actually catch Silver off-guard or alert him to a fundamental flaw in his own battle plans. Moreover, he just likes to spend time with Ethan.

That's what's been bothering Silver more than anything; he really,  _really_ likes Ethan.

Silver sneaks another glance at his friend. When did they become friends? Somewhere along the line, somewhere in the chaos of battling Team Rocket and collecting gym badges, at some point they became friends. It's a similar scenario with he and Crobat; he's not sure how or when, but they're friends now, and that's just how it is. He genuinely likes the New Bark trainer, all his weird quirks, his unequaled energy and affection - affection, yes, Ethan is the most affectionate person he has ever known, and as to why any of that affection is ever directed at Silver, he'll never understand.

Even more incomprehensible is how Silver has started to reciprocate.

A flurry of sparkling lights pours through the window, and again, the ensuing thunder makes Ethan yelp.

"Would you stop that?"

"Sorry! It's just startling, that's all!"

"You're startling me more than the thunder, at this point," Silver huffs.

"Oh, so you're scared of me, huh?"

"That's not what I - "

Ethan whines and curls in on himself with a particularly sudden crack of thunder. He actually looks uncomfortable.

"...not what I meant." Is... Is he okay?

Ethan looks both annoyed and embarrassed. "Don't look at me like that."

"Fine." Silver turns back to his studies. It takes maybe another two minutes before Ethan's whimpering catches his attention again. "What's with you?"

"Nothing!" he shouts. "Whatever. I-I'm gonna go get a snack. E-Everything is _fine_."

 _Fine,_ Ethan says with this emphasis that means he is not, in fact, _fine._ "Whatever."

"Do you want anything?"

"Nah."

Ethan almost runs out of the room. Silver sighs and puts his reading down. He's not going to be able to focus on anything serious like this anyway.

Curiously, he peeks at Ethan's game, the menu quietly playing music while paused. There's something about a mirror power in this particular game. Silver never really understood why Ethan loves this series so much, running around as a little pink blob who's only power is stealing other powers, but he's not about to question something that makes his friend happy. It keeps him occupied, too, so that he's not constantly hassling Silver and trying to hug him. _You look grumpy, so you need a hug!,_ or some bogus explanation like that. Silver would be more comfortable if Ethan _didn't_ try to hug him all the time.

It would be easier to ignore these feelings, too. Silver wonders if he could see the line between friendship and affection if it was staring him right in the face.

"I'm back," Ethan calls, walking into the room. Walking, not bounding in and jumping on the bed. Something is definitely wrong. Is it the storm?

"What did you find?"

"Pretzels!"

"Didn't your mom say she was saving those for a party, or something?"

"Yeah, but she buys stuff with mymoney half the time, so I deserve some."

"Well, you're not exactly paying rent."

"Neither are you, and you deserve snacks, too! Besides - " Five seconds of lightning flash, Ethan tenses up, and he manages to _not_ scream this time. He still looks scared.

"What's up with you, Ethan?"

"I just don't like thunderstorms, okay?" he huffs, curling up on the bed.

"Well, we're inside, and nothing is going to happen, so you can just calm down."

"Okay, fine! Jeez!" Ethan reflexively pulls away from the window when another boom comes through, whining softly under the roar.

"...Ethan, it's - "

"I know."

Ethan tries to go back to focusing on his game, but Silver can see that distracted look in his eyes. Silver is trying to look like he's on his phone, but he's actually trying to keep tabs on Ethan, now. Is he really that scared of thunderstorms, or what? Ethan has never shown much fear about anything, save for having to face off against Ho-oh, and that calls for an understandable amount of anxiety. There's literally nothing to worry about, though. The two of them are safe, as long as they're inside.

Silver decides to try his luck. "Are you worried about Lyra being in the storm?"

"Uh... no..."

"Because she's at the daycare, and she's safe if she's inside."

"Right."

Okay, round two. "Is it about the power going out?"

"No."

"Well, I'm outta ideas, Ethan. Why do you look like you're about to cry?"

"I don't like thunderstorms!"

"We're literally indoors, though! There's nothing to be scared of! I've even been in Ilex Forest during a thunderstorm, and nothing bad happened to me!"

"That doesn't mean nothing bad _can_ happen!"

"Nothing is _going_ to happen, though, that's what I'm saying!" Silver sighs. "Why are you so worked up about this, anyway?"

Ethan shouts through a roar of thunder, as if it could cover the truth somehow. "I got stuck in a storm when I was a kid, so I don't like thunderstorms!"

"Wait, you did what?"

Ethan jumps at the next crackle. Silver swallows his pride and sits close by Ethan's side.

"...Lyra and I didn't really know any better when we were kids," Ethan starts quietly. "We just wanted to see the lightning. We were in the basement, a-and we couldn't see anything, but we wanted to watch it. Our mom was gonna be home soon, though, and we knew she wouldn't let us go outside to watch the storm, and we were gonna just look through the window, but..."

Another low boom. Ethan shivers.

"W-We went outside instead. We wanted to see it better."

"Where... Where were you?"

"Out by the river." Water is not a good place to be in a storm, but if Ethan was a kid, Silver can kinda understand the mistake. "We wanted to see the lightning. Lyra said it'd be okay."

Leave to Lyra to get Ethan in trouble - but again, they were kids, right? "How old were you?"

"Seven-ish." Pause. "It kinda hurt."

"Wait, what?"

A long, quiet moment hangs between them, whole the world outside roars and the wind kicks up. "Getting hit by lightning kinda hurt."

Holy shit. "You... got hit by lightning?"

Ethan nods softly. "It really hurt." Pause. "I dunno if the scar is ever gonna fade all the way. That's why I don't go swimming without a top on."

Okay, now Silver feels like a jackass. Here he just thought Ethan was overreacting. "I'm sorry."

Ethan shrugs. "It's not your fault."

He bites his tongue for half a second. "I mean, I'm sorry I was being a jerk about you being scared."

"You didn't know, so it's okay." Ethan is too forgiving, sometimes, but Silver finds a lot of relief in that.

Another electrifying crack. Ethan covers his head with his hands.

"...you're safe in here."

"I know. I still don't like it." Ethan looks up shyly. "I still think lightning looks cool and all, but I keep thinking it's gonna hit me."

"Thunder comes after lightning, though."

"But if there's one bit of thunder, that means there's more - ah!"

He's actually crying, now. In a moment of something like bravery, Silver wraps his arm around Ethan and pulls him close.

"You're okay, okay? I-I got you."

Ethan throws himself into a hug, and Silver reciprocates just this once. Ethan buries his face in the crook of Silver's neck.

"I hate it." His voice is barely audible.

"It's okay, I'm here." Silver rubs his back gently. Is that okay? Is that helping at all?

Ethan shifts so he's leaning most of his weight on him, and Silver shifts so his back is at the headboard so they don't fall over. Ethan has a knack for knocking people down. Unfortunately, Silver is very familiar with this. Red has it objectively worse, though, since Ethan _and_ Lyra go running for him whenever they can.

"...Sil?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry."

Silver hugs Ethan a little tighter just before another burst of lightning flashes. "Don't be sorry. You're okay." Ethan is sniffling a little. "It's kinda like fireworks, y'know."

"What?"

"Lightning is like fireworks," Silver repeats the mantra he told himself the first time he got caught in a storm. "It's flashy and loud, but you're usually safe if you keep your distance."

Ethan grips him tighter. "Unless you don't."

"W-Well," another roar, and Silver allows Ethan to crawl even closer, "I'm gonna keep you safe, so you don't have to worry."

"Like a knight in shining armor," he jokes. "Except you shouldn't wear metal in a thunderstorm."

This is usually the point where Silver would push Ethan away, but he holds him still. "Yeah."

"Like a knight in shining... shining... wool?"

"What kind of wool are you talking about?"

"The kind where they put the sparkly bits in the wool so it's shiny! You've seen those Christmas sweaters, right?" Ethan has finally pulled away enough that they're looking at one another.

"Ugh, I hate those things."

"I'm gonna get you one for Christmas this year."

"I'll burn it."

"Aw, but Silvey - "

"Don't call me that."

" - don't you wanna accept my loving, thoughtful gift to you?"

Wait.

Loving?

"I-I'd rather drown." Silver blushes and looks away from Ethan, now. Their faces are too close for comfort with the word _loving_ in the air, but he still can't bring himself to push Ethan away.

"No, don't drown! Oh! I can get you an ugly Christmas life vest!"

"I don't think those exist, Ethan."

"Oh, _everything_ Christmas-related exists if you look hard enough!" Ethan crawls away to pick up his game and the bag of pretzels.

"Well, stop looking. Something like that was never meant to see the light of - "

Ethan lays back on Silver's chest. Another rumble fills the room.

" - ...day."

"What, did the thunder scare _you_ this time?"

"What? No, I just... uh..." _don't know what to do with you._

"It's okay, Silver. I'm gonna keep you safe, too."

 _You already have, taking me in like this._ "Thanks, I guess."

Silver tentatively wraps his arms around Ethan's waist, and Ethan leans back into him with a content little sigh. "I think I'm the more princely one between us, though. You're more of a cool knight with an awesome sword, and I'm the one calling all the shots in the kingdom!"

"What kingdom are you living in?"

"Ours." _Okay that's a little -_ "Do you want a pretzel?"

"...sure."

"Can you give me one, while you're at it? I'm busy playing _The Great Cave Offense."_

"You have two hands, you know." He doesn't jump when he hears the lightning this time, or maybe Silver is sufficiently distracting him.

"I need both of them to find treasure, though!"

Silver groans, but he does put a handful of pretzel sticks in Ethan's mouth. "You know the treasure's not even real, right?"

"Yeah," he mumbles. " _You're_ the real treasure, Silver! You're keeping me safe and sound!"

"R-Right." Silver is immensely thankful that Ethan can't see him blushing at this angle.

"Or maybe _I'm_ the treasure, and you're the treasure chest protecting me!"

"Whatever makes your happy, Ethan." _Floats your boat,_ is what he usually says, but Ethan is being too sweet right now and Silver is losing his composure and _god damnit don't say sappy things -_

"You make me happy, Silver."

Silver smiles and hugs his treasured Ethan a little tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> otherwise known as _i just wanted to write some huntershipping and here you go here's my johto boys_  
>  Silver will forever be a bit ~tsundere~ but i imagine he does show genuine kindness towards Ethan, especially bc Ethan is such a sweetie that he eventually feels bad for being a jerk. also Ethan and Lyra made bad decisions a lot of the time but going into a lightning storm is objectively one of the worst ideas they've had  
>  ~~also i can never remember which ship name is for the game boys vs the manga boys and i always have to look it up rip~~


End file.
